Mercedes started the 2026 Formula 1 season as the dominant force, winning the first six grands prix and securing pole position for the opening ten races. However, that advantage has been steadily eroded, with the German marque now winning only two of the last six races while Ferrari and McLaren have taken two victories apiece.
McLaren has shown the most rapid progress through recent upgrade packages. Lando Norris followed his Hungarian victory with another win at the Dutch Grand Prix. Ferrari has also continued to develop its car, while Mercedes has taken a more conservative approach, not introducing a major package since the Canadian Grand Prix.
Team principal Toto Wolff insists this is not a matter of choice but a result of budget allocation under F1's $215 million cost cap. "We haven't got the money to put developments on the car," he said. "I said before that we are trying to evenly split that through the season based on our calculations of when we can bring the biggest updates and optimising the championship points."
"But we just can't do what we can't do. That's why it is a development race. If you bring an upgrade, each of the top teams will have a couple of tenths in it, at least, and that's what you lose. So, yeah, the ride has been a bit tougher than at the beginning of the year," Wolff added.
The contrast with rivals is evident in the number of new components introduced. Ferrari has declared 40 new parts through the opening 12 rounds, compared with 38 each for McLaren and Red Bull and just 24 for Mercedes. Although these figures do not directly reflect development spending, Mercedes also trails when the scale of each upgrade is weighted.
Wolff suggested the difference could come down to when teams choose to spend. "Well, you will see towards the end of the season whether they are going to be able to deploy as much stuff onto the car as they do now," he said. "Someone might have a different strategy in spending more at the beginning and the middle of the year than towards the end."
Mercedes is not expected to introduce its next significant W17 development for another four races, leaving it exposed to further gains from rivals. The team's early-season advantage could also have been larger had reliability not intervened, with power unit problems affecting both Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. Wolff estimates those failures cost Mercedes between 50 and 100 points.
Read Also
Lando Norris menang di GP Belanda 2026, mengalahkan Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Simak penilaian pembalap dan analisis balapan di Zandvoort.
Ferrari kembali gagal di GP Belanda, Lando Norris menang, dan Hamilton marah. Analisis lengkap kegagalan strategi Ferrari di Zandvoort.
Racing Bulls mengonfirmasi timeline cedera pergelangan tangan Isack Hadjar yang membuatnya absen di GP Belanda 2026. Liam Lawson dan Yuki Tsunoda jadi pengganti.
Continue with Google
Discussion (0)
Join the Discussion!
Sign in easily to start commenting, replying, and interacting with other readers.
Latest Comments
No comments yet. Be the first!